Saturday, June 16, 2012

Billie Jean King on Elton John, Title IX, marriage equality and more

From an interview with Gay Games Ambassador Billie Jean King on Washingtonian.com:

Many people don’t know the story of Elton John and his hit song “Philadelphia Freedom”—that it was written for you and the World Team Tennis franchise by the same name. How exactly did that come to pass with him?

It was so amazing. I played for Philadelphia my first year, 1974. I had met Elton John in ’73. Elton started to come out to the Freedom matches and sit on the bench. And we made sure he had a uniform, and he was like our cheerleader, our surrogate coach—and he just loved it. When he wasn’t touring, he’d come. He loved tennis. So one time we’re going to one of his concerts, and we’re sitting in the backseat of a car, and he goes, “I want to write a song for you.” And I think he’s kidding, and he says, “No, I’m serious. What are we going to call it?” And I’m like, “Oh, my God, I have no idea.” And then he says, “How about if we call it ‘Philadelphia Freedom?’” And he wrote it in the summer of ’74, just after the team tennis season, and it became number one. It was a very big hit. I think we have the best signature song in sports, and nobody ever talks about it. I mean, it’s an amazing story, I think.

Let’s quickly touch on some other topics. This year is also the 40th anniversary of Title IX. And as one of the women who’s been at the forefront of equal opportunity in sports and in every walk of life, what are your thoughts on the impact that ruling has had four decades later?

Well, it’s incredible. And it didn’t just impact sports. Before 1972, if you wanted to be a doctor at Harvard, they only had a 5 percent quota. I met a woman the other day who said her mother was in a class of 500 and they only had 12 women. And what ’72 did is open up the doors and never let that happen again. And now 54 percent of the college enrollment is women. And it would never have happened if it hadn’t been for Title IX.